Hold My Hand
by DixieMame
Summary: 35 of the 100 Choices Challenge. Set in an AU. An older miser and a lonely witch meet at a ball.


_A request (albiet late) from a good friend of mine. Slightly inspired by Batman Beyond, who had villians based on a deck of cards. And yes, Mickey has little girls...long story._

Characters Belong to Disney.

* * *

Once upon a time, there were four kingdoms. Each had a king, who ruled over their own land in peace.

The King of Diamonds as a master of money, and spread a healthy economy through his kingdom.

The King of Hearts found strength through family and friends, and made sure his people found happiness.

The King of Spades ensured his people always had a good laugh, and that a day never passed without a good tease.

The King of Clovers delved in the mysteries of nature and beyond, and had his kingdom at their most powerful.

One day, however, the King of Clovers found himself greedy...he longed for more land, and became envious of what the other Kings owned. He started a war with these other kingdoms, but the three had teamed up, led by the king of Diamonds,, and easily defeated him. His people suffered for this, and he and his family became most hated.

Many years passed, and at least, a peace treaty among all the kingdoms was reached. It was celebrated with a grand masquerade...

* * *

"I feel ridiculous." The old man grumbled, adjusting his mask over his eyes. "Who's stupid idea was this for a masked ball anyway?" He turned to look at his nephew, irritation clear in his voice.

"King Goofy." The younger one replied simply, adjusting his blue sleeves. "Who else? He's always thinking of silly things like this..."

"The whole thing is silly, and not just these costumes." The miser barked, taking his cane off of his arm. "Peace between us and the Clovers...that's like asking a cat and a dog to get along. They're nothing but trouble!"

"Uncle Scrooge..." His nephew sighed, turning to look at him. "You've never even met any of the Clovers. They could be good people."

"Bah!" Scrooge huffed, opening a door to leave. "The day I meet a good Clover, I'll eat my hat."

* * *

"It looks FINE." She hissed, tugging on the frills of her red and black laced dress. "Now leave my hair alone! I don't care how they see me!"

"It's a celebration for a treaty of peace." Her grandmother growled, tugging on her grandchild's black locks. "They already hate our guts, so we may as well look good. Now stay still, Magica..."

Instead of obeying orders, the young one shoved her elders hands away. "This is a bunch of nonsense."

The old woman rolled her eyes, and placed the red mask on her relative's face. "Just grin and bear it...maybe you'll find a nice man, and get settled."

Magica gagged at this, looking herself over in a mirror. "Old age must be turning you insane."

* * *

Soon enough, in the dark hours of the night, the grand ballroom that was located in the exact middle of the four kingdoms was filled with hundreds of guests, in grand and glorious outfits. No one knew who anyone else was, so questions and giddy responses filled the air. Scrooge and Magica, of course, tried to stay out of the crowd as much as possible, until their insistent relatives tossed them in.

A large bell was suddenly rung, interrupting everyone at once. Masked in dark robes and hidden silver, the usually colorful King of Hearts stood on a platform, wearing a large smile as well. "I'd like to thank you all for your attendance...we'd like to begin our celebration with dance...let's see who we can meet in the mystery of the music!" He waved his hand, and soft sounds filled the room, urging feet to move.

With a roll of his eyes, Scrooge reluctantly found himself joining in. He touched hands with one female, possibly his nephew's wife, and walked with her a bit in a circle. He then lifted her a bit, walked another circle, bowed, and then passed on to the next dancer.

So the routine went on...until, out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a swish of raven hair. It wasn't so unusual as the King of Heart's wife and his lovely daughters had such hair...but, letting the image sink in, he realized the hair belong to a duck like himself. He didn't know anyone in his own family with raven hair, and he had rarely traveled outside of the castle...

There, again, he'd seen it! He was barely paying attention to the dance now, becoming slightly obsessed with who the mysterious maiden was. He looked around wildly, not noticing who's soft hand he had just touched. As the walk began once more, he realized the female of black hair was right by him...his newest partner! By the time he could look at her, her back was to him, for the lift...he held her up for a moment, and then quickly turned her around...

The first thing that either of them really noticed were the eyes, under the unique masks.

Soft and brilliant...yet with a sadness they each knew all too well. Unaware of the constant movement all around them, they simply gazed into each other...so of course it took them a few moments to realize the music had changed, and now you were stuck with the partner you had. Not that they had wanted to exchange different hands after this...

Scrooge managed to find his voice, and gave a small bow. "Ah suppose it wouldn't be too much to ask for a dance?"

"I suppose it would not." She replied, amused by his accent, and he found himself endeared to hers. His hand to her hip, and his other hand held hers. With her free hand, she lifted a bit of her dress, and the two began to move. "Tell me, are you zis polite with all women, or am I the exception?"

He frowned. "I'll have you know ah am the nicest..." he trailed off, realizing that wasn't entirely true.

"Having second thoughts on zat?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It's none of ye business."

She chuckled, shaking her head.

"What's so funny!"

"You."

"I am not funny!"

"I happen to think you are. And cute, too."

He didn't know how to respond to that one. He looked away, now redder before. She watched him carefully. "Is siz a rare thing for you, to be told such?"

"...Ah have not interacted much with women." Or anyone, really, but she didn't need to know that.

"Nor I with men. I just simply tell things as I see zem."

He looked back to her, and took her own advice. "Now that is a surprise, someone so lovely to not be with the company of men so often..."

"I find most men are idiots."

He gave her a flat look.

"I said _most _men."

He merely grumbled, and gave her a bit of a twirl. "I suppose that's a compliment?"

"It is. You are not like most men."

"How so?"

"Most men would have their hands on other places."

"...Ah Well,I have always thought the current generation was a bit..."

"Stuuu-pid?"

"Blunt, but yes."

She chuckled, and found her fingers locking in with his. "...You know, zis is the first time I've had fun in..." She paused. If she couldn't remember, it had been way too long. She looked down, thinking, and then went up to meet his sympathetic eyes.

"Ah could easily say the same." He whispered. She, too, had chosen not to venture out and risk getting attached...and yet, at their ages, it was obvious this had been a mistake, and perhaps had lost all hope of finding someone to understand their loneliness...

"Perhaps this wasn't such a stupid idea after all." She murmured, a smile appearing on her bill.

"Perhaps not." He replied, not even seeing his own hands pulling her in close to him. He stared into her beautiful eyes once more, feeling his heart pound against his chest. He was afraid to even blink, and miss a single second of her grace.

She let go of her dress, and placed a hand to his cheek. She could feel the intensity of his blush, and it lifted her, knowing she could have such an effect on someone. Slowly, she pulled his head in, closer and closer to hers.

Their eyes closed , and without really understanding what was happening to themselves, their mouths met, pressed together in a single embrace. All that had mattered in that single moment was a bit of selfishness...at last, they had found someone who had shared their pain, and could just as easily remove it. Through each had their own share of greedy desires, of money and power, all they wanted in that moment on the dance floor was each other...

GONG!

The bell had rung once more, and the ducks gasped as they pulled away from each other. Now both were tomato faced, slowly turning to face the King of Hearts once more, too embarrassed to look at each other.

The kind King stood at attention once more, looking amused. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, we implore you to remove your masks, and discover what friends you have made!"

They nervously looked back to each other with weak smiles. A little brave, the female reached out, gently brushing his face with her fingers, and removed his mask. In the same moment, he'd carefully done the same, and both brought their hands down to gaze into the faces of their soul mates.

For the second time that evening, they were interrupted, this time by the surprised shout of the King of Spades, who was in fact right behind them, having danced with Queen Daisy. "Well whaddya know! Who'd a thunk we'd see a Diamond and a Clover dancin' together!"

Scrooge and Magica's eyes went wide with that, and their previously kissed mouths dropped in shock.

As the guests stared at this revelation, King Donald let go of his partner, Queen Minnie, looking amused.

"Where are you going?" She asked..

"To get some salt. It might make my Uncle's hat taste better."

The End.


End file.
